On some days she works as a pewter production artist, and on others, she works children’s events for the business she founded, Chroma Fun Face Painting.

But the work that holds a special place in Lassiter-White’s heart is her position as a residential supervisor at the IBH Addiction Recovery Center, where she teaches recovering addicts how to channel their troubles into intricate doodles called Zentangles.

“There is nothing more beautiful than seeing someone who is mired in darkness be able to look up and see a glimmer of light,” Lassiter-White said. “I was that person.”

Before 2011, that light in Lassiter-White was eclipsed by her own struggle with addiction.

Now, with five years of sobriety under her belt, Lassiter-White has been using her art and her experiences to help others find themselves again.

On May 20, that self-discovery came full circle when Lassiter-White’s design was displayed on the medal that hung around nearly 350 recovering addicts’ necks as they crossed the finish line at IBH during the Recovery Challenge 5K.

Daily struggle

Lassiter-White grew up in Hudson, where her childhood was shiny on the surface.

“I had everything and anything I ever wanted,” Lassiter-White said. “None of that mattered, because inside I felt less-than. I always felt like the black sheep in the family.”

After she spent her adolescence self-medicating depression with marijuana and alcohol, Lassiter-White began using meth at age 21.

The manipulation, the lies, the broken relationships that often come with addiction — all of it became part of Lassiter-White’s life “in an instant,” she said.

“Drugs brought me to my knees,” Lassiter-White said.

Lassiter-White spent the next eight years in and out of employment, in and out of relationships, in and out of a blur. She had her son in 2006, but shortly after, she turned back to drugs and gave up custody.

All the while, Lassiter-White’s suffering reflected on paper. Her artwork had been reduced to rabid scribbling that took on what she calls an “insane fury.”

“It wasn’t art, it was insanity,” Lassiter-White said.

In 2011, she had a year and a half clean from meth but was still drinking every day. That year, she relapsed to bath salts, and then back to meth.

Her relapse landed her in jail, and then on to her first treatment facility.

Coming clean

After she got kicked out of one treatment facility, Lassiter-White found herself at IBH in 2012.

Although she had been clean for a few months already, Lassiter-White’s last-needed push toward sobriety came in the form of a bowl of cereal.

Patients at IBH weren’t supposed to eat cereal at any other time of day besides the morning. Staffers there told patients that if they weren’t disciplined enough to do that, they couldn’t expect to be disciplined enough to stay sober.

A year into her sobriety, she heard about a job there, and over the next three years, she worked her way up to a residential supervisor.

Along the way, Lassiter-White, now 34 and living in Akron, began piecing her life back together — she now has three jobs instead of none, she retrained herself to create art and she regained custody of her son.

Then, a few months ago — five years into Lassiter-White’s sobriety — the County of Summit Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services (ADM) Board selected her to design the medal for the five-year anniversary of its Recovery Challenge 5K, which ends at IBH.

“It was a natural evolution of things,” said Jerry Craig, the executive director of the ADM Board. “It was just a nice way for her to use the gifts she has to be able to give back.”

Lassiter-White spent the next month sketching out several designs for the medal, but she was suddenly struck with tragedy when her mother died unexpectedly in the middle of March. Despite a wave of numbness, Lassiter-White pushed through the grief and rounded out her final design in time for the race on May 20 — all the while remaining sober.

“She got to see the designs. She was so proud of me,” Lassiter-White said. “The day of the race, I know she was there with me.”

Fighting the good fight

In the end, Lassiter-White settled on a design with a pair of giant red boxing gloves dangling from a mountaintop. In the background, the race’s mascot “Adam” scales the mountain, coming just inches away from the summit “because you never quite reach it,” Lassiter-White said.

Even five years into sobriety, Lassiter-White said her struggle against addiction is still daily and conscious, but it’s something she needed to do to gain her life back.

When asked what she would tell her younger self now that she’s sober, Lassiter-White paused and thought for a moment.

“You’re loved,” she said finally. “And there’s a better way. It’s not easier, but there’s definitely a better way.”

She paused another moment to reflect on the hardships that came with her addiction — the lying, the manipulation, the hurt relationships — and she reconsidered.

“Sobriety is easier,” Lassiter-White said. “Just a different kind of easier.”

March 1, 2017 – IBH Addiction Recovery Center has launched a new electronic health record (EHR) system called Credible Behavioral Health Software (Credible). Initially funded by the IBH Foundation, Credible enables our counselors and medical staff to make better informed decisions based on documentation entered from all departments on campus. It also streamlines the process for billing, reporting, and electronic prescriptions.

“One of the greatest assets of IBH Addiction Recovery Center is the 24-hour support that a client receives while in treatment. Chemical dependency and mental health counselors, medical staff, education and spiritual care facilitators, and residential staff all play an important role in the treatment of our clients,” says Mira O’Malley, IBH System Administrator for Credible. “The implementation of Credible will improve the quality of care we provide by increasing timely communication throughout our interdisciplinary teams.”

Prior to Credible, IBH used a paper record system before migrating to an electronic health record in 2010. The old EHR system was plagued with a variety of software issues and limited programming functions. In 2016 under the leadership of Don Finn, former/retired IBH Executive Director, IBH formed a comprehensive EHR team to review several EHR system choices, as well as IBH’s workflow, billing and reporting needs. They formulated an RFP that included functions to meet the agency’s current needs as well as flexibility to expand in the future. Three EHR vendors were chosen to present, and Credible was unanimously chosen by the team.

Credible offers multiple benefits. It is a web-based solution which eliminates the need for in-house servers and maintenance. The system is highly secure, HIPAA compliant, and comes with strong technical support. In addition to improving the information flow among the interdisciplinary teams at IBH, it also improves work efficiencies in other department by offering electronic billing, customized reporting, and electronic prescriptions. Overall, IBH will improve time efficiencies, reduce the use of paper, and eliminate redundancies ultimately resulting in better care for our clients.

The implementation process took 4 months to configure and test the system, train the staff, and launch. On November 1, 2016, IBH went “live” with minimal disruption. “Credible has proven to be an outstanding choice for IBH,” says O’Malley. “Staff were able to quickly learn the system with minimal problems. We continue to monitor the system to ensure the information is accurate, as well as address ongoing
enhancements and training issues.”

The next phase of Credible involves tracking clients that opt to participate in the IBH REACH Project after they leave residential treatment. REACH staff members will be able efficiently track volunteer hours and meeting attendance. IBH is also working to integrate outcomes and effectiveness data into Credible for more effective and efficient reporting. The IBH Foundation funded $103,000 in start-up costs for this EHR project.

February 1, 2017 – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than six out of ten drug overdose deaths in 2014 involved an opioid. Since 1999, the number of overdose deaths involving opioids (including prescription opioid pain relievers and heroin) nearly quadrupled, prompting the CDC to define the problem as an epidemic. While the current opioid overdose epidemic has hit our nation, it has become a horrifying reality in Summit County.

In the last 10 years, IBH Addiction Recovery Center has seen a corresponding increase in the number of people seeking treatment for opioid addiction. In 2005, 26.1% listed opioids as their first, second, or third drug of choice and by 2015, the percentage increased by 174% to 71.5%.

Opioid dependence is a medical condition caused by changes in the chemistry of the brain that can make treatment and recovery difficult. Opioid addicts frequently take more than they intend, devote significant time obtaining the drug and recovering from its effects, and continue to use it despite serious negative outcomes, physically, psychologically, and socially. Over time, the brain’s nerve receptors are likely to adapt and begin to resist the drug, causing the need for higher doses which could lead to respiratory arrest and even death.

Recovery from opioid addiction is possible, however, research shows relapse is a constant danger. There is also high risk of accidental death if a person uses opiates after being abstinent for a period of time. If the person is not well established in a solid recovery program, then the risk for relapse is even higher.

To respond, IBH Addiction Recovery Center has embraced the latest evidence-based research supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). Opioid-dependent clients will now have a choice to participate in medication assisted treatment using FDA-approved naltrexone (brand name: Vivitrol).

Naltrexone is a pure opioid antagonist and found most useful for highly motivated patients who have undergone detoxification from opioids and need additional support to avoid relapse. It has shown to improve treatment retention by reducing cravings and therefore relapse. It is not addictive and can be discontinued without any side effects.

“Naltrexone will only be used as an adjunct to residential treatment at IBH,” says Nancy Winkler, Director of Health Services at IBH. “The goal is to engage our clients for a long enough period of time to allow them to complete residential treatment, work and embrace a 12-step recovery program, and build a strong foundation rooted in spirituality.”

The decision to use naltrexone is purely voluntary for each opioid-dependent client, and will only be used when clinically appropriate and approved by the addictionologist at IBH. Approval for use is based on individual medical and motivation assessments. “Our communities are losing too many to the opioid crisis,” says Deborah Foster-Koch, Executive Director of IBH. “This crisis demands up-to-date, evidence-based protocols that support the current treatment philosophy at IBH. This will allow the person to engage more successfully in all the components necessary for sobriety.”

IBH has opened an renovated facility on property to serve 20 additional male clients. The County of Summit ADM Board chose IBH Addiction Recovery Center to provide additional service for males with opiate/heroin addiction.

Staff at IBH worked quickly to renovate an existing building on property, hire staff to accommodate the influx in clients, and ensure the appropriate policies and procedures were in place accommodate the growth.

“The ADM Board, along with their community partners, are dedicated to eliminating this epidemic by providing critical treatment and recovery supports to those in need. These additional treatment beds will improve our ability to provide treatment in a timelier manner” says Jerry Craig, ADM Board Executive Director, “We are pleased to partner with IBH Addiction Recovery Center as they begin to expand further into Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), an evidence-based practice which combines behavioral therapy and medications to effectively treat substance use disorders.

Deborah Foster-Koch, Executive Director of IBH Addiction Recovery Center adds, “It is a privilege to be chosen for the addition of 20 beds in Summit County’s continuum of care. We recognizeand appreciate the trust the community has placed in us, and this expansion will allow IBH to serve even more people.”

New lobby area in Men’s North FacilityMen’s North ChapelBrand new kitchen facilitiesBrand new kitchen facilitiesMen’s North recreation room.Men’s North meeting and training room.